Sometimes questions can wait
by Daria234
Summary: Humorous Ficlet with a little angst and a little schmoop. Implied Parker/Eliot/Hardison long-term arrangement. SLASH & HET & TRIAD, don't read if you don't like.


Eliot limps to his door.

He wasn't used to limping any more. He had gotten used to having more contingency plans and a hell of a lot more backup.

He had gone soft. It was good that he was back in action, then. The others, they needed to be part of a team. They were lost when they were alone - Parker and Hardison especially, which is why he never let them get away with bailing.

But Eliot was different. Eliot thrived on his independence.

Eliot stayed the best hitter around by surrounding himself with heavy situations, and with people who were almost as good as causing damage as he was. People like Eliot didn't stay sharp by hanging out with kind-hearted grifters and retirees, or by getting involved with naive kids who bicker over video games and soda.

Eliot was exactly where he should be.

Even if he really wasn't used to limping any more.

But as he opened the door he realized that something wasn't right. And he grabbed his knife from his boot as he crouched to the floor and went for cover behind the counter.

But then he heard a voice.

An annoying voice.

"I told you we should have called!"

"The man doesn't have a phone! Should I have sent a passenger pigeon?"

"Oh sure, NOW you think of the cool pigeon idea!"

"Passenger pigeons are not cool, Parker! For one thing, they're extinct, and if you're extinct, then by definition you have ceased to be cool. Also, they are pigeons. Which are like rodents - nasty flying poop machines. They're the rats of the air."

"That's dumb. Everyone knows flying squirrels are the rats of the air. Wait - why did they go extinct?"

"Oh, that's a sad story, actually. See, they need a special plant to survive which can only be grown in light that passes through a lens made of the Caruvian Ruby that belonged to Queen Cristina. And when someone stole that a few years back, no more special light, no more plants, no more passenger pigeons."

"But I - I - do you mean it's my fault Hardison?"

Hardison burst out laughing, but his laughs were interrupted by a wounded grunt that Eliot easily recognized as the sound of Parker punching Hardison in the gut.

Eliot stood up then. He did his best to look stern. He in no way revealed with his expression how ridiculous the two looked bickering in the back corner as they stood beneath a big multi-hued banner. But when he saw that the banner said, in large block letters, "Surprise! And please see who we are before you indiscriminately hit us!", Eliot couldn't stop himself. He broke down and started laughing.

"What did I tell you?" Hardison said, "I told you he would be glad to see us!"

Parker ran over and jumped in Eliot's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. "You totally missed us," she said and looked expectantly at him for confirmation. He gave it by planting a long kiss on her lips, and giving a light grunt of pleasure as their lips parted. Hardison walked over to them and gave him his own deep kiss, as Parker released Eliot with her legs but stayed close so she could see the two men come together above her.

Eliot looked at the two of them, flushed and eager, and part of him wished he could give them everything they wanted and more. But they were expecting something from him, something a lot longer than a night of laughter and food and great sex. Still... he had assumed that the two of them would just be happy together without him. He wasn't expecting them to track him down....

"We're here to drag you back," Hardison said, and then added with a smile, "By force, if we have to. We'll drag you back kicking and screaming if that 's what it takes."

"Let's drag him by the hair," Parker said with a smile.

Eliot on instinct did a quick dodge to move his head out of Parker's reach. But he looked at their faces and he knew that the lure of his old life had some tough competition. And he knew he was about to lose, he knew he was about to once again decide that the tough honest questions could wait until another day, because there was something about the way they looked at him that made it too hard to say no. But Eliot couldn't even bring himself to regret it. So he just said, "Thanks for coming to get me."

"You did the same for each of us once," Hardison said.

"More than once," Eliot said, "Seriously, you guys are the biggest pains in the ass I've ever met."

"Awww!" Parker said, touched by his comment, "That's Eliot for 'I love you!'"

Eliot rolled his eyes and brought both of them into a big embrace. He didn't like to admit it in words when Parker was right.

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AN: Originally written for comment_fic on livejournal, prompt was E/P/H, when one wants to leave, the others track them down to bring them back


End file.
